School-desk



(No Model.)

H.'B. HITESHEW.

SCHOOL DESK.

No. 390,859. Patented Oct. 9, 1888.

I Nirnn STATES PATENT QFFICE,

HARVEY B. HITESHEIV, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SCHOOL=DESK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,859 dated October 9, 1888.

Application filed April 30, 1888.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY B. HITESHEW, acitizen of the United States, and residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in School-Desks, which is fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a school-desk embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a similar view of the back and back-frame enlarged; Fig. 3, a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the back removed from the back-frame; Fig. 4, a front elevation of one member of the back frame; Fig. 5, a rear view of the back; Fig. 6, a detail sectional view taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. 5 and on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 7 a detail view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 5 and on the same scale as Fig. 7.

Like letters refer to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

My invention relates to schooldesks and other like articles of furniture, in which a metallic framework is employed in connection with seats and backs of wood or other like material. These wooden parts are generally curved to conform to the curves of the body, the frame-work which receives them being of course correspondingly curved, the wooden and metallic parts being separately constructed and subscquentlyput. together, being again separated, however, and reunited at any time for the purposes of storage and shipment.

My present invention relates more particularly to that class in which the curved back or seat, whether constructed in a single piece or built up in the usual manner of a number of transverse pieces or slats, constitutes as a whole a single rigid piece having the desired curvatures; and it has for its object to provide means whereby such a curved back or seat may be readily and firmly united to the framework,which supports it in an expeditious and efficient manner.

To these ends my invention consists in certain novel features, which I will now proceed to describe, and will then particularly point out in the claim.

In the drawings I have shown in Fig. 1 a

school-desk consisting of the metallic frame Serial No. 272,358. (No model.)

A, carrying the top A and curved back B, and having pivoted to it the seat-supports O, which carry the seat 0. In the remaining figures I have shown in detail the manner in which the back B is secured to the frame A, since this construction fully illustrates my invention, although the same is of course applicable not only to the back but also to the seat or to any other curved portion of the desk or other article of furniture. The front upper portion of the frame A is shown at A in these figures, and the two members thereof, one on each side, constitute the back-frame, the same being curved to conform to the curvature of the back B. Upon the front surface of each member A there is mounted a series of lugs, a, four of these lugs being shown in the pres ent instance, although, oi'course, any desired number may be employed. Each lug consists of a neck, a, and a transverse head, a", of greater width than said neck and projecting beyond the same at each side, as shown in Fig. 6. The head a is beveled off at the top on the under side thereof, as shown at a. Upon referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings it will be seen that the lugs a are arranged in different planes, according to their different locations upon the curved back-frame A, and it will also be seen that the planes in which the said lugs are arranged are parallel to each other, as indicated in dotted lines in said figure; in other words, the defining'walls ofthe said lugs are arranged in different but parallel planes.

The back B is provided with a series of recesses or apertures, b, to receive the lugs a, with which they correspond in number and location. Each aperture consists of a body portion, 1), of dimensions sufficient to receive the head a said body portion 1) being provided with an extension, If, on each side of which there is arranged a locking projection, I);

Between the locking projections b there is left a slot, b, to receive the neck a of the lug a. It will be observed on referring to Figs. 2 and 3 that the recesses-b are arranged in parallel but different planes corresponding to those of the lugs a.

In securing the back B to the back-frame A it is first brought into position opposite the same,with each recess 12 opposite the corre sponding lug, a, and is then first forced against the back-frame, the lugs a entering the body portions l) of the recesses b. The back 13 is then moved downward in a straight line, and since the lugs and recesses are both arranged in parallel planes, which parallel planes are also parallel to the line of movement of the back during this operation, each lug will engage with its corresponding recess at exactly the same time and to exactly the same extent, thus serving to quickly and firmly lock the back in position upon the bacleframe. \Vhen thus locked, each lug has just the same amount of work thrown upon it as each of the other lugs, the strain upon all of the lugs being equal.

Heretofore where curved backs or seats have been applied to correspondingly curved frames the locking-lugs on the frame have been arranged parallel to the curved surface thereof, and consequently in different planes which are not parallel to each other. The recesses of the back or seat have of course been similarly arranged, and consequently the back could not be moved into position by a single direct movement in a straight line, and the strain upon the lugs, as well as the holdingpower exerted thereby, hasbeen unequal. This difficulty I have overcome by arranging the lugs and recesses in different planes parallel to each other and to the line of movement of the back while being applied and locked, thus obtaining a much more efficient fastener.

lhere is an additional advantage attendant upon the construction which I have devised, which advantage bears more directly upon the facility and consequent cheapness of mana l'acture of the desk. By reason of the several recesses having their corresponding walls in parallel planes I am enabled to cut all of these recesses simultaneously by employing bits so arranged as to enter the wood to dili'erent extents, the said bits all operating simultane ously and going through the same movements. In those cases where the recesses are not exactly parallel to each other it is obvious that the position of the back must be shifted each time a new recess is to be cut, and only one recess can be cut at a time. A very considerable saving both in the time employed and in the money expended in the manufacture is thus saved.

It is obvious that the application of my invention is not limited to the attachment of the back, since, as hereinbefore stated, it may be employed to attach the seat or any other curved portion to a correspondingly curved frame. It is also obvious that various modifications in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without dcparting from the principle of my invention, and I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting myself strictly to the precise details hercinbclore described, and shown in the drawings.

Having thus described my in vcntion, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

In a school-desk or the like, the combina tion, with the curved frame provided with a series of locking-lugs arranged in dilTerent but parallel planes, of the curved back, seat, or other part provided with a corresponding series oflocki iigrccesses, also arranged in differ cut but parallel planes, these planes corresponding to each other, and being parallel to the plane of movement of the parts during the operation of interlocking, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

HARVEY B. IIITESHEV.

\Vituesses:

IRVINE MILLER, CARRIE Faro IGL. 

